5. Honourable
Commissioner Reine Alapini Gansou presided at the meeting, in her capacity as
Chairperson of the Study Group on Freedom of Association in Africa.

6. In
her opening statement, the Chairperson of the Study Group, Honourable Reine
Alapini Gansou, expressed her gratitude to the representatives of the various
networks for their participation and determination in promoting and protecting
human rights on the African continent. In this regard, she recalled the basis on
which the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights decided to establish
a Study Group on Freedom of Association in Africa and expressed hope that this
first formal meeting which is financed exclusively by the African Commission would
yield concrete results.

7. After
the opening statement by the Chairperson, Honourable Commissioner Lucy
Asuagbor, who was Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa at the
establishment of the Study Group, took the floor and reminded members of the Study
Group of the prime importance of freedom of association which, she underscored,
is a gateway to all the other rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights.

8. The
Coordinator of the West Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, Mr. Diallo Gadiry,
then welcomed members of the Study Group and thanked them for choosing a
country which is covered by his network to host their first meeting.

9. After
the agenda was adopted, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in
Africa gave a presentation on the Study Group and its mandate.

10. Members
of the Study Group, including representatives of various human rights defenders
networks and institutes, then gave presentations on the situation of freedom of
association in their respective regions, laying particular emphasis on the
challenges and opportunities for implementing freedom of association and
demonstration in their various sub-regions.

11. The Study Group had the opportunity to brainstorm
on how the African Commission can protect freedom of association and assembly
through its decisions and jurisprudence.

12. Members of the Study Group reviewed the various already
existing and ongoing initiatives relating to freedom of association and
assembly in Africa.

13. The Coordinator of the Working Group on the
1901 Act on Freedom of Association in Togo, Mr. Seth Matéli Kluvia, discussed
with members of the Group the ECOWAS experience as part of the latter’s 2020
vision and the questionnaire used by the sub-region in the ongoing inventory of
all civil society organizations in the ECOWAS zone.

14. Members of the Study Group adopted a methodology
to be used in the study to be conducted on freedom of association. They also produced a data collection questionnaire
based on the pilot case study of Togo.

15. The Study Group designed an action plan for
implementing ACHPR Resolution
ACHPR/Res.151 (XLVI) 09 on the Need for the Conduct of a Study on Freedom of
Association in Africa.

16. The Study Group also started discussions on the
potential sources of funding towards a speedy conclusion of the study.

17. The closing ceremony of the first formal meeting
of the Study Group on Freedom of Association in
Africa was held on 14 May 2012 at Hôtel Résidence Louise in Lomé,
Republic of Togo.